The 98 rental units in the final phase of Werthan Lofts in Germantown will hit the market as condos in about 60 days. / File / The Tennessean

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In short supply

The 98 units going on the market should help to address a tight supply of condos in the Nashville area. In downtown, for example, there’s only a three-month inventory of 64 resale condo units available to purchase, no developer-owned units and no new units planned or in the pipeline, according to a tracking by the Nashville Downtown Partnership that doesn’t include units in Germantown.

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Nearly 100 rental residential units in the final phase of Werthan Lofts will hit the market as condos in about 60 days after Village Real Estate Services bought them from the development entity for $12.7 million.

The Nashville-based real estate firm plans to start with selling the 33 units on the fourth floor, CEO Mark Deutschmann said. The remaining units will be sold as owner-occupied condos over the next four years.

“Obviously, it will add much-needed supply, but it’s such a unique product that it will cater to a specific type of buyer that is looking for that type of unique loft feel,” said Zach Goodyear, managing broker with Parks in the Gulch, a division of Bob Parks Realty that specializes in urban properties. “A high-rise buyer is totally different than a Werthan buyer. There’s demand in the market for both, but they’re not the same buyer.”

Unlike all of the other more than 200 units in the previous four phases of Werthan Lofts at the old Werthan Packaging plant in Germantown, the 98 units in the fifth phase were financed and built as apartments. Those 98 units were completed in fall of 2012 and are currently leased.

“When we started the units, financing for condominiums was difficult to obtain, so we chose the short-term plan to lease those units,” Deutschmann explained. “Our intent had always been the entire project as condominiums and this will complete our vision for the project.”

Aaron White and Hunter Connelly, who left Core Development more than a year ago to form Evergreen Real Estate, are among partners along with Deutschmann in the development entity that just sold the units to Village Real Estate. Core remains an affiliate of Village Real Estate.

Chad Wohlers, a broker with Village Real Estate, expects the units to sell well because Werthan is popular and the price points there don’t compete with Midtown and downtown. “Werthan has healthy demand from younger, first-time buyers; but most importantly, the price is right,” he said.

Getahn Ward covers growth and development. Contact him at 615-726-5968 or follow him on Twitter at @Getahn.